Akagi is a young boy who is a very talented gambler and makes remarkable wins in the story. In the first story he starts to play mahjong against Japanese mafia (Yakuza) for the first time in his life, but learns the game quickly and wins. Mahjong is a game that involves huge amounts of money and the Yakuza gangs use it to earn money, so when Akagi first won, it was his first step into the underground business. Akagi shows incredible talent throughout the story, but he also is a heretic that makes him different from others - his playing style is characterized by extremely risky and far-reaching bluffing techniques, which excite and terrify experienced players, as does his cheating ability, which he uses rarely, but to great effect. In the end he becomes a legend in the underground world.